Wood Partners and Golub & Co. Break Ground on Lake+Forest Apartment Community in Oak Park, IL

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Lake+Forest

A joint partnership between Wood Partners, LLC and Chicago-based Golub & Company recently broke ground on a 1.6-acre, 270-unit luxury rental community in Oak Park, Ill. Lake + Forest consists of a 21-story, 240,000-square-foot building located on Forest Ave. in the suburban village of Oak Park, and is designed by award-winning architecture firm Gensler. The building will occupy the site of a former city-owned parking structure, according to a news release.

Lake + Forest will feature 124 one-bedroom units, 106 two-bedroom units, roughly 25,000 square feet of retail and office space facing Lake Street, as well as 288 private and 300 public parking spaces. Amenities include a fitness center, storage areas, a large outdoor deck, expansive hotel-quality lobby, and onsite car-sharing service. Each unit will feature stainless steel appliances, solid-surface countertops, vinyl plank flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows, washer and dryer, while select units will also feature private terraces and balconies.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be involved in this complex development and to be co-developing with Golub & Company,” says Clay Iman, development associate at Wood Partners. “This is the result of a tremendous collaboration with the Village of Oak Park and a lot of folks’ tireless efforts over a period of several years.”

Conveniently located just minutes away from the city of Chicago, close to shopping and employment centers such as Oak Brook and the O’Hare office market, Lake + Forest will create approximately 300 temporary construction jobs and 8 property management jobs, and is slated for completion by spring 2016. The property is situated in close proximity to medical campuses (RUSH, Loyola, Cook County Hospital, University of Illinois-Chicago Medical Center) and outdoor recreation areas such as Austin Gardens, Cummings Square and Scoville Park.

“Lake + Forest will enhance downtown Oak Park, an already vibrant and beautiful community, and serve as an anchor development for the village’s east end,” Iman says.

Tishman Construction is the general contractor for the project, while retail leasing will be handled by Golub & Co. and JLL.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler